Brushed by Stal Lionne

Brushed
     
    Piper Lawson loved walking through SOHO when it rained because it reminded her of the girl she used to be before she became the women who took the kids to soccer practice, prepared lunches, or tried to stay awake for PTA meetings. Back when she used to walk these same blocks in her young 20s, she was an art student at Parsons and Manhattan was the source of her inspiration.
    While she loved her children and the security of her home in Long Island, any amount of excitement or passion that may have existed in her marriage had evaporated with the weight of responsibilities and obligations. Her husband used to bring her little gifts and write sweet notes he left for her, but now he spent long nights at the office and was away so much on business she hardly knew what kind of life he was living away from her, and for sure didn’t remember the last time he existed fully inside of her.
    She fell in love with the man who used to run his tongue over the sweet spots between her legs, but that man didn’t have the time or patience to perform such acts anymore.
    These days, most everything revolved around the kids – and though the love she received from them was more than enough to fulfill her soul, it had been a long time since she was satisfied in places that touched beyond description. Today though, on this rainy day in SOHO, she was transported back to the emotions and wonders she had during her student days. 
    Piper was there because she was remodeling her kitchen and found a reasonably priced painter online who fit within her budget. It would have been just as easy to pick out the colors she wanted online and book a time for the painter to come do the work, but she always jumped on any excuse to venture into the city. Her city. She walked the cobblestone streets in her sensible shoes – the same kind you see on the covers of those cheesy easy to read beach books that people devoured to feel just average. It’s a dangerous thing to live an average life, and Piper felt herself drowning in it.
    She was out of place and out of fashion even in what were now her best shoes, and decided that she needed to treat herself to something special. After all, moms spend most of their lives doing things for others, so she needed to shower herself with a little pleasure. A small boutique shop seemed to be calling her inside. They didn’t have shops like this in the ‘burbs, and her feet didn’t deserve to be wanting. She strolled slowly into the shop, and looked casually at all the shoes she’d only been able to see in magazines and online. It just wasn’t the same as seeing things in person – that direct connection between you and the material is one that can’t be duplicated in virtual reality. A young girl smiled from behind the register as Piper browsed the shoes, stealing glances at the rain falling on the stones outside the store.
    Piper stopped on a pair of Miu Miu ray embossed calf leather platform sandals. It’s amazing how the feeling of seeing something that should be yours stimulates the same erogenous zones that the right kind of touch from a man can bring. She had to have them, but the quick impulse was attempting to be pushed down by the voice of reason. The young salesgirl stepped out from behind the register and into the middle of Piper’s internal debate with herself.
    “Those are amazing, right?” the salesgirl said. “Feel the leather on the soles – it’s just so sublime. Want to try them on?”
    “I’m not sure I should,” she said, rubbing her finger over the tiny strap that would wrap around her ankle.
    “Sometimes it’s not about what you should be doing,” the salesgirl said. “You need to indulge in your wants. How else are you going to be happy in this world? When was the last time you did something just for yourself? Me, I make sure I get mine before someone else takes it from me.”
    Piper looked at the salesgirl’s eyes – at the newness to the world that hadn’t darkened